With six of eight teams from the Fraser North conference looking to move on to the Fraser Valley regionals in the long march to the BC High School boys basketball AAAA provincials at the Langley Events Centre in March, it might be tempting to gaze past this week’s league playoffs that conclude Thursday.
But it wouldn’t be advisable.
Just ask the Pinetree Timberwolves. After romping through league play last year, they stumbled to fourth place in the first round of the post season. That meant a lower seeding and tougher opponents in the Fraser Valleys.
And while they still squeaked into the provincials, they learned a valuable lesson.
“We made the mistake of looking ahead,” said the Timberwolves’ co-coach, Chris Davies.
In fact, Pinetree’s ability to focus on the here and now may have been sharpened by a stunning 89-86 loss to the Riverside Rapids in their penultimate league game of the season — their only setback in league play. The team was hobbled by a flu bug that was ripping through the roster, and Riverside’s Michael Wilkinson had a career night, netting 58 points, but they were able to reset with a rebound win the next night, 73-53, over the highly-skilled Dr. Charles Best Blue Devils, to clinch the league’s regular season title.
“We finished strong,” said Timberwolves’ co-coach Eugene Melnik.
That, plus some strong showings against top-ranked teams and two tournament victories, have given the team encouragement heading into the post-season. It’s also made the Timberwolves a target.
“We’ve made ourselves a bit of a name,” Melnik said. “The teams in the Fraser Valley are assessing us. They’re paying attention.”
But first they’ll have to get through this week unscathed
A bye into the semi-finals that will be played Wednesday at Pinetree secondary in Coquitlam, will help the Timberwolves overcome some of its health problems. It’ll also help build their anticipation for gaining something to show for their efforts, Davies said.
“Winning something matters for these guys,” he said of the prospect of a league title. “It would be a big confidence boost.”
One of the possible opponents should they reach Thursday’s league final which will also be played at Pinetree could be the Heritage Woods Kodiaks who snatched second place with an 68-65 win over the Terry Fox Ravens last Friday at Terry Fox secondary school in Port Coquitlam.
Kodiaks’ coach Chris Martin said the victory was a highlight in a rollercoaster season.
“It’s really tough to go into Fox’ gym and steal a win,” he said.
Martin said the tough, competitive nature of the Fraser North division is a good proving ground for the battles ahead in the Fraser Valleys where seven of the province’s top ten teams in the latest provincial rankings reside.
“It’s always been a dog fight,” Martin said. “It gets you ready.”
But he’s also focussed on keeping his young squad, with two Grade 11 starters, grounded in the immediate task at hand.
“We preach that all season, to take one game at a time,” Martin said. “Do your best minute by minute, quarter by quarter, and hopefully by the end of it, you end up on the right side of the score.”
Their first test of that resolve could, in fact, come against the very team the Kodiaks beat out for second place, the Ravens, should Fox prevail in their quarter-final game Tuesday .
Nothing would please Ravens’ coach Brad Petersen more.
“It’s always nice to get a rematch if that were to happen,” he said.
His young squad, that includes two Grade 11's and a Grade 10, has flirted with the provincial rankings but mostly they’ve been gaining experience from a tough tournament and exhibition schedule.
“I knew there was going to be some hard times,” Petersen said. “We were throwing them into the grind and seeing how they dealt with it.”
And with some big wins in tournaments over Pinetree and 10th-ranked Lord Tweedsmuir, Petersen feels they’ve performed admirably.
“We’re on the young side, but we compete hard,” he said.
• Wednesday’s semi-final games will be played at 6 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. at Pinetree secondary school in Coquitlam. The final will be played Thursday at 7:45 p.m., also at Pinetree, with the other seeding games preceding it at 4:15 p.m. and 6 p.m.
